CH13 – The Rise of a Mass Democracy

Time Frame: 1824-1840

Objectives: At the end of this chapter, you should be able to:

• Describe and explain the growth of Mass Democracy in the 1820s.
• Indicate how the alleged corrupt bargain of 1824 and Adams’ unpopular presidency set the stage for Jackson’s election in 1828.
• Analyze the celebration of Jackson’s victory in 1828 as a triumph of the New Democracy over the more restrictive and elitist politics of the early Republic.
• Describe the political innovations of the 1830s, especially the rise of mass parties, Jackson’s use of the presidency to stir up public opinion, and indicate their significance for American politics and society.
• Describe Jackson’s policies of westward expansion, his relations with the new Republic of Texas, and his harsh removal of the southeastern Indian nations on the Trail of Tears.
• Explain Jackson’s economic and political motives for waging the bitter Bank War, and show how Jacksonian economics crippled his successor Van Buren after the Panic of 1837.
• Describe the different ways that each of the new mass political parties, Democrats and Whigs, promoted the democratic ideals of liberty and equality among their constituencies.

Assignments

• Jackson Presidency Chart (PDF)

Andrew Jackson Video